Our Time
by c.j. hamilton
Summary: A story that takes place after Logan returns. It's about the happy couple themselves and their friends and family.
1. true love returns

_Yes, well, I know, I still have to update Meant Something to Me. But, I got this idea and had to write it! And, this is the second draft because I'm an idiot and instead of clicking 'save', I clicked 'exit'. Yes, I'm an idiot. And, admittance is the first step…right?_

_Anyways, this story will be somewhat AU. It will be a Rory/Logan story and will hopefully be quite long. It starts at the beginning of Rory's senior year of college. Just so you know Rory is 21 and Logan is 23. Other than that this is what you need to know:_

_Lorelai and Christopher married when Rory was 5. They subsequently had 5 more kids (they've obviously been very busy…): Lillian (Lily), 15; Jacob (Jake) and Isaac, 9; Jacqueline (Jackie) and Benjamin (Ben), 3. They currently live in Hartford, but they lived in Stars' Hollow until Rory was 12. Lorelai and Sookie (all that is true on the show for her is true in this story) own a chain of inns along the eastern seaboard. Christopher is a lawyer for a firm in Hartford. _

_Rory began Chilton as a freshman. However, she had been best friends with Tristin DuGrey since they were children due to their grandparents. Lane is also best friends with the two. For (my, especially) entertainment reasons, Finn and Paris are dating. Tristin and Stephanie are also dating. Dave is still in this story and dating Lane. Colin is dating my own character, Krysta. Everyone is attending Yale (if not, they've graduated) except for Tristin, Lane and Dave, who are respectively attending Princeton, Berklee College of Music and UCLA. _

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It was one o'clock in the morning when Frank dropped him off at the entrance of the apartment building. He was excited to be home. It had taken three months of lengthy verbal battles with his father along with many nights spent working until 3 or 4 am to prove his 'maturity' Finally, after three long months, his father agreed be could go home. Of course, he'd be working at The New York Times, but an hour and a half drive was nothing compared to the eleven hour flight. 

He couldn't wait. He wanted to hold her in his arms again. He needed to hold her in his arms again. He needed to kiss her again. He needed to see her smile. The last time he'd seen her she was crying and that broke his heart. He couldn't handle it. He never wanted to do that to her again.

His walk across the lobby seemed miles long. The ride up the elevator seemed to take days. Years, even. The hallway to the door of the apartment appeared to get longer as he walked closer to the door. The key just hadn't seemed to fit the lock the first 'thousand' times he tried it. He was convinced the door weight a few tons as he pushed it open.

Walking into the vast apartment, he saw his girlfriend with her back to him talking on the phone. As he got closer, he realized that she was talking to Lily, her younger sister. He couldn't hear the other end of the conversation but caught Rory's end and silently laughed.

"He called you Mary?"

"Really?"

"Lily, listen, I'll come down this weekend and we'll talk. Actually, you need to talk to Tristin. He'll know what to tell you!"

"Bye hun, see you soon!"

It was at this moment that Logan chose to wrap his arms around her waist. She screamed. He laughed.

She turned, she knew that laugh. Twisting in his arms, she smiled when she saw him then began to cry. When she started crying, his heart broke.

"Rory, what's the matter? Why are you crying?" Logan's heart continued to break as she continued to cry. He didn't understand… wasn't she happy to see him?

She smiled, "Oh, Logan, I know you're still pretty new to this whole boyfriend thing… but when a girl cries, she may be happy. And let me tell you, I'm ecstatic." She managed to get the entire speech out in between the tears and laughing. Both had wrapped each other in the biggest bear hug ever and refused to let go of one another.

"So, why are you still up… let alone talking to Lily?"

"Oh, she called me about 4 hours ago to talk about her first day of sophomore year. I completely forgot how much that girl talks."

He laughed, "Boy troubles?"

She laughed as well, "You caught the end, huh? Yeah… She too is the Mary of Chilton. I'm so proud!" The last sentence was extremely sarcastic.

He pulled her into another hug and placed a deep kiss on her lips. Returning the kiss, they became immersed with one another until it became imperative for them to breathe. She smiled and pulled him to the bedroom. They fell on the bed and continued kissing. Rory's hands started up Logan's back, removing his t-shirt at the same time. Logan had already removed her (or his rather) sweat shirt and was currently working on her shirt as well. They had eventually removed each other's shirts and started on their pants. Logan was shocked to find that Rory had no bra on underneath the shirt, but he quickly recovered and began placing feather-light kisses down her chest. Slowly, the two had lost all articles of clothing. As they came together, either couldn't help but notice how well their bodies fit together. Afterwards, they cuddled together, Rory's head on his chest, Logan's arm around her shoulders, pulling her close. Their legs were entwined together.

For the first time in three months, they both slept soundly.

The next morning, Logan awoke before Rory. Getting out of bed, he pulled his boxers on and wondered into the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on. Looking through the cupboards, he wondered how Rory had lived the past three months. There was no food in the cupboards, save a box of Triscuits and canister of Starbucks' coffee. Sighing, he pulled on a pair of Adidas pants and a white t-shirt, slipped on a pair of shoes and ran down the street to the local bakery.

When he returned, Rory still hadn't woken up. After placing the Danish on the counter, he walked into the bedroom and lay down next to his sleeping girlfriend. About 15 minutes later, he kissed her, slowly waking her up. When she woke, a smile graced her face.

"Breakfast is in the kitchen." He said

She slowly got out of bed, wrapping the sheet around her. After pulling on one of his oversized t-shirts, she walked into the kitchen. She saw her boyfriend sitting at the kitchen table reading the Wall Street Journal and sipping a mug of coffee. Pouring herself a cup, she grabbed cherry Danish out of the box and sat down next to Logan at the island. She snatched the front page of the New York Times and started reading an article about global warming. Halfway through the article, Logan spoke.

"What do you think about going out to dinner tonight?"

"I think we should."

"Good. Let me guess, it's an excuse to go shopping, right?"

His only response was a smile.

"Going to call Stephanie?"

Again, his response was a smile, quick nod of her head and a kiss.

Two hours later, Rory and Stephanie were wondering through the mall looking for a "sophisticated" outfit for Rory. They had walked through numerous stores and hadn't found the perfect outfit yet. Logan had given Rory his credit card, even though he knew she wouldn't use it. As a last resort, they walked into Ann Taylor. To their surprise, they had found the perfect outfit. The sage colored dress had medium width straps and a scoop neckline. It just reached her knees and made her already milky skin even creamier. They had continued walking around the store to find a pair of shoes. Right before they had been ready to buy the dress and give up on the shoes, they had found the perfect pair. The shoe had two straps across the toe and wrapped around the ankle. They were silver and had a slight heel. Right before checking out, they had found a small pearl necklace to accompany the dress. When they had walked into the line in front of the cash register, Stephanie's phone had started to ring. Seeing the smile on Stephanie's face, Rory had figured it was Tristin and told her to take the call. Stephanie had walked out of the store and sat a couch in the middle of the mall. Rory smiled. She knew the feeling. Whenever Logan called, she knew she got that smile on her face.

She knew she was in love. And for the first time in her life, she wasn't afraid to admit it.

Rory had rushed home after dropping Steph off at Tristin's apartment. Jumping into the shower. She had applied light makeup and curled her hair. She had pulled on her new outfit and walked into the living room.

There, she saw Logan and laughed. He was reading an issue of TEENvogue that Lily had left over the apartment when visiting the week before. Not looking up, he asked, "Do girls really wear this stuff?"

"What stuff?" she had asked in return. Walking behind him, she saw him pointing to a picture of a model dressed in a bright purple tennis dress with neon blue leggings and bright yellow converse high tops. She laughed.

"No honey"

"Good." At this point he had turned around and took in Rory's outfit. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, he told her, "You look beautiful."

"Why thank you," came her reply, "You don't look so bad yourself."

And he didn't. He had on a pair of grey dress pants and a dark maroon dress shirt. As he pulled on his dark coat, the shirt stretched across his stomach, highlighting his defined abs.

Grabbing Rory's hand, he led her out the door and into the waiting limo.

Anhour later, they had arrived at asmall Italian restaurant in Little Italy. It was a real hole-in-the-wall place and was owned by a family who had come from Italy only 30 years prior. You could truly gain weight just by smelling the food. They had ordered a small white pizza and shared a bowl of ravioli. Logan had ordered a bottle of their finest wine and they took their time eating and drinking – just savoring the idea of being together. About halfway through dinner, Logan had gotten up. Rory figured he had just gone to the bathroom. She didn't see him hand their waitress a small velvet box, or whisper in her ear a very important favor.

Returning to the table, Logan and Rory continued to talk about their summers. About London and Rory's siblings… They had finished up their dinner when Logan suggested dessert. Looking over the menu, they had ordered a piece of Tiramisu. The waitress had taken their order and couldn't help but notice how in love the couple was.

Rory didn't notice how the waitress, an old woman named Cecile, slipped something onto the piece of dessert.

Placing the dessert on the middle of the table, Cecile had made sure that she placed the plate were it was sure to catch the light of candles on the table. She knew she had done well when she heard the young woman gasp.

"Lo-Logan?"

"Ace… you were, are, my first girlfriend. But ever since the day I saw you at the coffee stand, I've been in love. I know I've messed up. But, when I woke up in the hospital and I saw you sitting in that chair, holding my hand, I knew that you were the one for me…" he had begun to falter, laugh even… "I've never been nervous asking a question before… but Rory, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

The tears had started to come now, and Logan wasn't as confused this time.

"These are happy tears, right?"

She only nodded vicariously.

"So that's a yes right?"

"YES!"

Logan had then slipped the gorgeous two-and-a-half carat emerald cut solitaire ring on her hand. The white gold band glittered in the candle light.

Later that night, they lay in better cuddled after making love. They had been talking about everything… what their wedding would be like, if they wanted kids… when they'd get married…

Neither had ever been as happy as they were in those early hours of the morning.

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_So, that's chapter one... tell me how you all like it._ _Really, I hope you liked it. Hmm... not sure the next time I'll update... I'm starting the college search this weekend... oh the fun of college campus tours. And hell, maybe I'll update Meant Something to Me as well. I've got a lot of work this weekend and will probably have time to write... now, getting it on the computer is another story all together. I procrastinate. No amount of reviews will change that. Sorry. Oh... disclaimer..._

_Obviously, I own little of this story. Lily, Jake, Isaac, Jackie and Krysta are mine. The ring... definitely not mine. It's Harry's. Harry Winston, that is. The outfit is by Ann Taylor._ Logan's is by Banana Republic.


	2. telling the family & a mini sex talk

_**Oh, to all who reviewed! You all make me so happy. I'm so glad that you all like it. Anyway, here's the second chapter.**_

**_Oh, and to Tink664, thank you. I definitely meant to use the word 'vigorously' not 'vicariously'. Thanks for pointing that out! _**

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The next morning, Rory had rolled out of bed and grabbed Logan's shirt from the night before. Buttoning it up, she walked into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. Grabbing a pastry from the day before, she sat down at the kitchen table to read the newspaper. About halfway through her second cup of coffee and the Arts and Life section of the local newspaper, she felt Logan wrap his arms around her shoulders from behind.

"Morning."

His reply was muffled with a yawn, "Morning."

"Still tired?"

"Yea… somebody I know really tired me out."

She smirked at this comment, "you know you liked it."

He had to smile, she was right… somewhat. "No… I didn't like it. I loved it."

She replied, "I know."

They sat together in silence eating their breakfasts, drinking their coffee and reading the newspapers for a while. It was Rory who finally broke the silence.

"You know what we have to do right?"

His reply was a blatant innuendo and a smirk, "Each other"

"Very funny."

"I know… on both accounts. Tell the family, right?"

She looked uneasy, "Yes."

He sensed her uneasiness and walked over to her, wrapping her in his arms in a tight bear hug. "It'll be okay. You know that right?"

She smiled into his chest, "Yeah."

Later that day, Rory and Logan were on their way to the Gilmore House in Hartford. Coincidentally, today was Friday, so gathering the family at dinner was rather easy. They had taken Logan's Cayenne and were currently turning down the Gilmore's street. Rory had straightened her black skirt out for about the 100th time when Logan pulled into the driveway. He put the car in park, got out, and went over to the passenger's doors to assist Rory. As she got out of the car, he took her hand.

"It's gonna be okay, you know that. And, even if it isn't, which it won't be… it doesn't matter. What matters is that I love you and we're getting married!"

"I know. And, I love you too."

He smiled and continued to play with the ring on her left hand. The door opened to reveal a new maid. After being ushered into the sitting room, the newly-engaged couple took a seat opposite Emily and Richard.

Emily was the first to talk, "Your mother and father will be a little late today. They had to pick Jake and Isaac up from a birthday party."

"Oh. Okay."

The four sat and talked about Yale and the newspaper business for a while. Logan kept Rory's hand in his, hiding their secret that lay there. Suddenly, a loud commotion was heard and the youngest twins, Jackie and Ben came running into the room to greet their grandparents.

"Grandma! Grandpa!" The two had jumped onto the couch that their grandparents were sitting on and were now sitting in the middle.

Jake, Isaac, Lorelai and Chris were the next to enter. They had taken seats on the sides of the room.

Lorelai provided what everyone who had not just arrived wanted to know.

"Lily's still in the car. This weeks' crush called and she just _had_ to talk to him."

"Brett?" It was Rory who talked this time.

"Is that his name? Interesting. I thought she still liked Scott. I liked him. That boy was entertaining."

They continued polite conversation until Lily's quite un-sneaky attempt to enter the room. She went to hug Rory. The two sisters talked for a second until a screech was heard.

"Rory, what is that on your finger?" Emily requested.

Rory took a seat and grabbed Logan's hand for emotional support.

"An engagement ring."

"You and Logan are getting married?"

The young couple looked at one another and smiled. Inadvertently, they had replied at the same time, "Yes," the smiles on their faces were a smile wide.

Various congratulations could be heard around the room and talk began about what the wedding colors would be what song their first dance would be to, who would be the bridesmaids and groomsmen.

Emily was the first to ask the first question, "When is the wedding?"

Rory glanced at Logan and he nodded for her to answer.

"Well, since Logan will be working in New York until next May, and I don't graduate until May, we were thinking December 15."

"December 15? Why?" That was Lorelai's question. Emily added, "Yes, why wait those 7 extra months? June is a lovely month to get married in."

Logan took this one, "Yes, we know. But, to be honest, we wanted to wait a little. Rory didn't want to have to stress over finals and a wedding along with getting a job. Secondly, we both love winter. December just seemed like the right time."

Richard was the first to reply, "I think it will be lovely."

"Thank you Grandpa"

The maid had come to announce dinner and the group moved into the dining room. Over a delicious meal of Fettuccini Alfredo and chicken, they began discussing all the details of the wedding. Things they had thought of the night before and things they never would have thought of.

"So, Rory, where do you plan on having the reception?" Emily had asked. She thought she knew the answer, although, she still wished it wasn't.

Rory swallowed, she hadn't talked to Lorelai about this yet. Biting her lip, she replied, "Well… I know I always talked about being married at the Inn. But… I don't know if it will be big enough… Especially due to the fact that the wedding is in December… we couldn't be outside."

Lorelai sighed… she knew this would happen. But… it wasn't her wedding… it was Rory's. She smiled, "So, where are you going to have the wedding?"

Rory's smile brightened. "I was thinking this charming reception hall in New Haven. It's adorable. Very 1920's. According to the owner, it was sort of "the hottest" place to be in the 20s. The woodworking and everything is exquisite."

"I've been there before, I think. It's a lovely place. I've been there for many benefits." Emily was amazed… She always though that her eldest granddaughter would marry someone from Stars' Hollow and would be married at the Inn Lorelai ran. Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine Rory marrying someone from society or getting married at a semi-society popular reception hall.

Lorelai took this as the time to voice her opinion. "Hey, Ror, you still want Sookie to cater? I'm sure she'd love to. And, I'd still love to help you plan the wedding. And, you're right, the Inn would be way to small for a winter wedding."

Rory smiled. She never dreamed that this wedding would come together as smoothly as it was.

They spent the rest of the dinner talking about Lily's time at Chilton and Jackie and Ben's first day at pre-school. Lorelai told them how Jackie was already in trouble for painting things she wasn't supposed to – other kid's clothing especially. Ben was the quieter of the two – more like Rory.

Lily told them about the 'Mary' incident and Rory and Lorelai just laughed. She later asked why Rory told her to talk to Tristin.

"You'll see" was Rory's only reply.

Jake and Isaac talked about their soccer team. The two were the best players on the team. They had obviously gotten their athletic abilities from Chris. Tristin had gotten them involved in the sport as soon as they had learned how to walk.

As they were walking out that night, Lily asked Rory if they could talk.

"Anytime, you know that."

"Could we meet at Starbucks' tomorrow?"

"Absolutely… how about if I pick you up and we go shopping? We'll be needing to get you a bridesmaid dress…"

"Really? Okay!"

Walking out to the car, Logan had his arm thrown over Rory's shoulders, keeping her close.

"Told you it would go well"

She turned to him and glared.

"Cocky boy."

He smirked, "very."

The next day, Rory drove to Stars' Hollow to pick up Lily. She had taken Logan's car knowing that they'd buy way too much to fit into hers. Rory had also called Steph to come along. Steph was more like Lily than Rory and maybe she could help. She had picked up Steph at her New Haven apartment on the way there.

Pulling the black SUV into the drive way of her childhood home, Rory and Steph had both barely opened their doors when Lily came running out.

"We have to go… now… before you get sucked into the war that is currently occurring in there!" Lily had said, rather quickly, slamming the door of the car shut. "It's a mad house. They should all be institutionalized."

"What's going on?" Rory asked, clearly interested.

"Jackie got into Mom's make up. While Mom was removing the mess from Jackie's face and the wall, Ben was flushing Dad's ties down the toilet downstairs. Jake and Isaac came home covered in mud and tracked it all over the house. All over the new carpet too. Oh, and Dad was called to London at 3 am this morning to fix something that some intern caused."

Steph laughed, "Sounds like a normal day at the Hayden household."

"True." Rory had agreed.

The three were currently shopping at American Eagle for Lily. She had her first date with Brett the next Friday and was as nervous as all hell. They had been to numerous stores and had yet to find anything Lily liked.

All she found in Abercrombie was cute sales guys.

Hollister? More cute sales guys.

H&M? Lily had declared it 'worthless for date wear'.

Ralph Lauren? Good for the club. Not a date. Although, Rory and Steph had both found outfits.

Marc Jacobs? Nothing.

Guess? Too 'slutty'.

Currently sifting through piles of jeans, Lily found the 'perfect pair'. They had a low rise and dark wash and looked marvelous on her long legs. Relived, Rory more than happily offered to buy them and handed the salesgirl Logan's black card.

They continued shopping for another hour before Steph finally suggested Armani. It seemed to be the only store they hadn't been to yet.

Within minutes, they had found a cropped, tight-fitting khaki-colored blazer and a white tank top for underneath. Lily, apprehensive over the price of the ensemble, tried to say she didn't like it. But, being the seasoned shoppers they were, Steph and Rory insisted that she did like it. They were all too right. Once again laying the black card down, the three gathered their purchases and walked out the door.

They were fifteen minutes late for their reservations at Moxie. Logan had made the reservations that morning and the restaurant all but rushed to ensure that a table would be available. Otherwise, it'd be a three month wait. Falling into the chairs around a table in a private room, the girls began talking about their favorite purchases and boys. The typical girl talk.

Steph was nothing short of giddy about her purchase at Victoria's Secret. Tristin was visiting her in two weeks. She then proceeded to talk about how happy Tristin would be to see her in the sexy little red number. After all, red was his _favorite_ color. Rory glared at her, giving her the "there's-an-underage-child-at-the-table" look. Steph just shrugged her off, saying that it wasn't like she hadn't heard any of it before.

Besides the "first date outfit", Lily had gotten a homecoming dress at Jessica McClintock. She assumed that Brett would be taking her and had purchased a dark blue chiffon halter dress that she said would look magnificent with his blue eyes.

Rory had bought a Vera Wang cocktail dress for her first charity event that she would be attending with Logan as 'the future Mrs. Huntzberger'. The dress was black silk with spaghetti straps and a v-neck. It wasn't tight fitting, but it flowed lightly against her curves and ended right below her knees. Against her pale skin it looked even better. Rory hadn't allowed Lily to listen to what Steph had to say about the dress – and Logan's reaction.

They were about halfway through dinner when Lily had a question that made Rory almost choke on her food and Steph almost spit her champagne out.

"When did you know that you wanted to have sex?"

Rory was the first to get an audible answer out that wasn't a curse word.

"Well… I… Logan… We… Lil, hun, don't you think you're a little, um, young?"

"Yes! Oh my god. I just wanted to know because, well, I'm definitely not asking Mom. Not after hearing your stories. And, well, you'll be married soon and having kids, you won't really have time. And Steph, well, you're practically married to Tristin as it is."

Steph had blushed at the last comment. But, she had continued to answer Lily's question.

"Well Lily, I have to say that I completely regret my first time. I was… completely wasted, to put it lightly. To be honest, I regret the fact that it wasn't Tristin. I never would have done it. I guess you just have to understand that you need to wait for the one. The one who isn't just in it for the sex… he has to love you and you have to love him. It makes it so much more… enjoyable."

Rory sighed. Her little sister was growing up. Looking at her sister, she realized that she really wasn't the little girl she always saw her as.

"Lily, you're young. You have your whole life ahead of you. All I have to say is that you have to make sure he loves you. Not just the fact that you'll have sex with him. I regret the fact that my first time was with Jess. Sure, I loved him, but I was never in love with him. I would trade anything for Logan to be my first time. After all, it was Logan who held me and let me cry on his shoulder when Jess left. That's when I knew that Logan was the one for me. Just, don't make the same mistakes that Steph and I have. Make sure you love him and are in love with him. And make sure the feeling is mutual. Any more questions?"

Lily had more questions. They were personal, but Steph and Rory felt as though Lily needed to know.

"How old were you when you lost your virginity?"

"17."

"18."

Those were Stephanie and Rory's respective answers.

"Who?"

"His name was Nathan. He was hot… but that's all I ever though of him." Anyone could clearly see that Stephanie had regretted her choice.

"Jess, but you knew that."

Lily smirked, suddenly, she had an idea. Maybe she'd be able to get more out of the older girls.

"How are Logan and Tristin in bed? I mean, they are hot!"

Rory and Stephanie were nothing short of shocked. They both knew revenge would be sweet.

Stephanie was the first to recover.

"That is a story for another time. Preferably when you are legal and drunk, so that you won't remember the next day."

When they had dropped Lily off, Stephanie had one more piece of advice for Lily.

"Oh, Lily?"

"Yes?"

"When you are old enough, use a condom!"

The shade of red Lily's face had become was more than enough for Stephanie and Rory to consider 'sweet revenge'.

What was even more sweet was Brett was sitting on the front porch...

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**So, how was it? I don't care about reviews... But I do want to know what people think. And, I've said it in other stories... I thrive on criticism... I just love proving people wrong. So, please, criticize away. Maybe that will make me update quicker...**

**...Probably not.**


	3. new couples & time together

**_Here's chapter three. And, you'll meet Brett and Krysta in this chapter. Just some information on Brett and Krysta:_**

**_Brett is 16 to Lily's 15. They are however, both sophomores. Like all the boys in the story, he plays soccer (because all male soccer players are gorgeous!). He's 6' 2" and has shaggy blonde hair and brown eyes. _**

**_Krysta is 21. She and Colin met in prep school as juniors and have been together ever since. She's tiny, barely 5' 1" and has dark brown hair and bright blue eyes. _**

* * *

Lily had made her way up the front steps when a voice startled her. Turning quickly, she saw Brett sitting on the porch swing. 

He looked at her dubiously, "Condoms?"

If it was possible, Lily was even redder then she was before.

"Uh, yeah… my sister's friend… bad sense of humor, you know?" She was trying to convince herself more than she was trying to convince him.

"Oh."

"So, um, not that I'm not happy to see you here… but, how did you know where I lived?"

"I asked around."

"Oh."

Lily was currently looking at her feet. Her shopping bags had already fallen to the porch when Brett had surprised her and her shoes were very interesting right about now.

Brett wasn't doing much better. His hands were shoved in his jeans pockets and he was rocking back and forth on his heels.

After about a five minute period of awkward silence, Lily spoke.

"So, you, uh, want to come in for a drink?"

"Sure."

"Logan! Really, how can you laugh about that?"

"Ace, hun, it's hilarious if you think about it!"

"It's hilarious that my FIFTEEN year old sister asked how you were in bed! How can you think that?"

"Maybe she just wanted to know what to expect!"

"Oh, we are so not going there. I hope you like our couch!"

Rory had stalked off to the bedroom and slammed the door. Logan had just laughed and resumed what he was doing before Rory came home. Turning to the refrigerator, he pulled out a block of Asiago cheese and began grating it. Within minutes of placing the lasagna in the oven, Rory came out of the bedroom.

"Ooh, what smells so good?"

"Dinner"

"What is it?"

"A surprise"

"Logan!" She had cried in exasperation. She had then buried her head in his chest and allowed him to wrap her in his arms. They had stayed like that until the oven timer went off and they sat down to a lovely candle light dinner.

"Really?" Lily placed a hand over her mouth to make sure that he didn't see the half-chewed food as she laughed.

"Yes really."

"You mean to tell me that that really happens on the bus?"

"Do you doubt me?"

"No, actually… I just can't believe they let you get away with that!"

"We just won State – they probably would have allowed us to get away with murder!"

"Oh, okay."

They sat there in silence for awhile, quietly enjoying each other's company as they snacked on the Oreos and milk that Lily had found in the kitchen. She wanted to make some chocolate chip cookies or something like that, but, like Rory, she had inherited her mother's cooking abilities. After a minute, Brett spoke.

"Listen, Lily… I came over for a reason."

Lily didn't like the way this was going. Was he going to break off their date?

"It's about the date we had for next Saturday."

"Oh…"

Brett saw her face fall. When it did, his heart… well, it suddenly felt much heavier.

"It's not like that Lily! Really, I want to go on this date. It's just…"

"Just what? Really Brett, tell me if you don't want to go. I'll understand…"

"Lily, listen. Our game got moved. It's Saturday, not Thursday, so I was wondering if you wanted to come to the game and then we'd go out afterwards. I'll understand if you don't want to go so late. We can reschedule, I guess." He was nervous, he never asked a girl to come to one of his games before.

Lily smiled. He was adorable when he was nervous.

"Where's the game?"

His eyes lit up when Lily had asked that.

"It's at Chilton. Listen, actually, I was wondering if you wanted to come as my girlfriend…" The last word was said so quietly she could barely understand it. However, she had been waiting forever (or, to her it seemed so) for him to ask this and she knew what he had asked..

"YES!"

"Alright… I'll see you there, okay?"

She smiled, "Absolutely"

"Krysta! I can't believe you find this funny!"

The group had all met at the Pub that night. Steph had called everyone when she found Tristin sitting in her apartment when she returned from the fated shopping trip. Deciding that neither would see there friends the rest of the weekend, she had called everyone and suggested that they meet at the pub for some drinks.

"What? Steph, Rory, it's funny."

"I know it was." Stephanie had replied, "It's Rory who has her panties in a bunch. I mean, it was especially funny when Lily got out of the car and I told her to make sure she uses a condom… Her face was so red."

"You didn't!" Paris had said, "That poor girl!"

"Yeah, and you want to know what's even better?" Stephanie had an evil glint in her eye as she said this, "When we were driving away, I saw a boy sitting on the porch… Pretty sure that it was that Brett kid."

"Steph! Why didn't you tell me?" Rory was shocked. Was her little sister meeting a boy at their house… their empty house?

The boys were all laughing. They had gotten used to being ignored as the girls talked. Once Finn had returned with their drinks, they sat down and began reminiscing about high school as they talked about Lily. To the group, she was all of their little sister.

"Oh!" Rory had said while they were walking out, "Hey, Tristin, guess what the boys at Chilton are calling Lily?"

Tristin smiled, "Let me guess… Mary?"

Rory was shocked, "How did you know?"

"You seemed way too happy. You always said that you'd find it hilarious for Lily to be a 'Mary' as well. Looks like it's a family tradition… we'll have to see what happens with Jackie. And, your and Logan's kids of course."

"Funny, Tristin, really funny."

When Rory and Logan had arrived at home, there were fifteen messages waiting for her on their answering machine. After listening to them all, and laughing through most of them, she called Lily back.

"Hey Lily."

"Oh! Rory! Thank God!"

"Hun, what's the matter?"

"Well, Brett was here when you dropped me off. Thank Stephanie for the 'condom' comment by the way. And, we were talking for a while, and it was great. Then, he says he needs to talk about Saturday. And, I'm like, oh, no, is he going to break it off? And, he must have seen the look on my face because he got all worried and kept assuring me that he wanted to go on the date. This made my day by the way. Anyway, he then says that his soccer game got moved to Saturday. And, I'm like, oh great. Well, it turns out that he wanted to invite me to his game! Isn't that great?"

"Yeah hun, it is!"

"I haven't told you the best part yet!"

"And, what is the best part?"

"HE ASKED ME TO BE HIS GIRLFRIEND!"

Rory had to hold the phone away from her ear. Logan even heard her in the other room.

"Hey, uh, Lil, you might want to take it down about 10 decibels. I'm pretty sure a rocket takes off quieter than that."

"Sorry."

"Listen, Lily, I'll talk to you Monday. I have a lot of work to get done this weekend."

"Bye"

"Bye"

Hanging the phone up, Rory walked in the bedroom and saw Logan lying on the bed reading a book. He had on a pair of small silver reading glasses and some striped blue pajama pants. Grabbing her pajamas, she walked into the bathroom and got ready for bed. After brushing her teeth and washing her face, she walk back into the bedroom. Climbing onto the bed, she laid down next to Logan and cuddled into his side.

"Whatcha reading?"

He turned the cover of the book so that it faced her.

"The Da Vinci Code? You haven't read that yet?"

"Haven't had the time."

"What part are you on?"

"Just started chapter six"

"Oh… so page 8?"

He laughed, "About that." Anyone who has read a Dan Brown book knows that the chapters are short and numerous.

She curled even more into his side and he lifted his arm and placed it around her shoulders, holding her even closer.

"Read to me?"

"Sure"

Logan began reading, his smooth voice lulling Rory to sleep.

…_Having squeezed beneath the security gate, Robert Langdon now stood just inside the entrance to the Grand Gallery. He was staring into the mouth of a long, deep canyon. On either side of the gallery, stark walls rose thirty feet, evaporating into the darkness above. The reddish glow of the service lighting sifted upward, casting an unnatural smolder across a staggering collection of Da Vincis, Titians, and Caravaggios that hung suspended from ceiling cables. Still-lifes, religious scenes, and landscapes joined portraits of nobility and politicians…_

Glancing over, Logan noticed that Rory had fallen asleep. Trying his best not to wake her, he gently laid her down against her pillow. Brushing her hair out of her face, he lightly kissed her lips and turned to his night table. He folded the corner of the page he was reading and removed his glasses. Lyingdown, he pulled Rory into his arms and fell into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

**_

* * *

_**

Have you even thought about how 'awkward' is a weird word? It's so… awkward to spell. Ha. Anyway, how was it? I definitely do not own The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. Though, I highly suggest reading it. It's a good book. But, don't see the movie. Tom Hanks was an awful idea for the role of Robert Langdon. Angels and Demons, also by Dan Brown, is a great book as well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. And, have any of you seen the new show, Psych? It's awesome. I love it. And, that Sean guy, yeah... he's pretty hot. Watch it. I'm pretty sure that that show will be making an appearance later on...


	4. nyquil? vaporub? sudafed?

**_And, here's chapter four!_**

* * *

The next few weeks passed rather quickly for the newly engaged couple. Logan had spent two of the weekends that they were supposed to spend together in the city straightening out the paper. The third weekend was Lily's Homecoming and Rory had spent it in Stars' Hollow helping her little sister get ready. Luckily for Lily, her dance was less eventful than Rory's first dance. 

It was the first weekend of November when they were finally able to get together. Currently, Rory was sitting at their kitchen table leafing through Bridal magazines to get ideas for the dresses and bouquets. Her hair was in a messy ponytail and she had on a pair of Yale sweatpants and a long-sleeve white t-shirt. Her head was resting on her arm with her elbow on her knee. Getting more and more frustrated by the 'lack' of ideas that she didn't like, she slammed the magazine shut and moved on to the 5" binder her grandmother and Shira had provided her. It was full of table settings and flower arrangements. Not to mention the 100 + pages of dresses by couture designers. Shoes and various other accessories were also included. Brushing back the hair that had fallen in her face she glanced at the clock.

_10:29 pm_

Logan was due to arrive at 11:30.

* * *

_11:13_

Logan glanced at the clock on the dashboard on his car. Turning down the radio, he felt his headache get worse. Placing the SUV into cruise control, he brought he knee up to use it to steer. Rubbing his temples, he replaced his knee with his hand and used the other to dig in the center counsel for the bottle of Tylenol. Popping two into his mouth, he turned off cruise control and pulled onto the Yale exit.

Pulling into the parking garage of the apartment building, he found an empty space and turned the engine off. The Tylenol still hadn't helped his headache and it felt as though it was getting worse. Barely managing to get out of the car and walk through the lobby without falling, he had just made it to the elevator. Reaching the 8th floor seemed to take decades and the abhorrent elevator music made his headache worse. The ding of the elevator reaching his floor seemed to be comparable to the detonation of multiple explosives at the same time.

Being the only apartment on the floor had its advantages. Hearing the 'ding' of the elevator, she couldn't help but feel excited. Deciding to 'play it cool' she remained sitting at the table. Hearing the door open, she spoke.

"Do you realize the atrocities that are wedding gowns? I mean, I've never seen anything this ugly in my life! This one looks like a train hit a tulle truck!"

She was about to continue talking when she realized that Logan had yet to come wrap his arms around her like he normally did. Turning in the chair, she turned to see him leaning against the door, looking positively exhausted. Not to mention the fact that he was pale as well. Quickly leaving her chair, Rory rushed over to him. Placing the back of her hand against his forehead, she quickly removed it.

"My God Logan, you're burning up!"

All she got was a groan in return.

Wrapping her arm behind his back, she guided him to the bedroom. As soon as they reached the bed, she allowed him to gently fall to the heavy down comforter. Removing his shoes, she helped him to lift his legs to the bed. Helping (more of doing it for him) to remove his sweater and pants, she brushed his hair off his forehead and lightly kissed him. She crossed the bedroom and walked into the bathroom. Opening the medicine cabinet, she pulled the box of Nyquil out and read the back. _Well, he's over 12, so two pills must be okay… _She thought. Grabbing a Dixie cup, she filled it with water. Walking over to the side of the bed, she kneeled down.

Whispering, she willed him to open his eyes.

"Logan, hun, you've got to take this."

Barely sitting up, he took the pills into his hand and popped them into his mouth. With her help, he managed to take a sip of water to wash the pills down. Placing another kiss on his forehead, she moved to the other side of the bed. Pulling the blankets back, she crawled into bed.

* * *

The next morning, Rory awoke to find Logan still sleeping, rather restlessly, next to her. Walking to the kitchen, she turned the coffee pot on and walked to the door to retrieve the news paper. Sitting down at the table, she noticed that the wedding binder was still open. Looking between the newspaper and binder, she sighed. Grabbing a cup of coffee, she sat down to the binder once again.

About 30 pages of dresses later, she heard a moan come from the bedroom. Closing the binder, she walked into the bedroom. Placing a hand on his forehead, she felt that he was still burning up. She gave him more medicine then wondered back into the living room. Grabbing the cordless phone from the end table, she called a familiar number.

The phone rang.

Once.

Twice.

The phone seemed to ring thirty times when it was finally picked up.

"Hayden Residence"

"Hey Isaac."

"Oh, hey Rory."

"Is that any way to greet your favorite older sister?"

"Hello Rory, how are you today? I trust that you are well?" For a nine year old, Isaac was particularly sarcastic.

"That's better. Can you put mom on?"

"Yeah, it might be a minute. Last time I saw her, she was wrestling Ben into his sweater. It's picture day at pre-school."

"Oh, okay. Speaking of which, why aren't you at school?"

"Snow day."

"What? We have no snow in New Haven!"

"And, that's my problem?"

"Smart aleck. Put Mom on."

"Hang on."

A few minutes later, Lorelai picked up the phone.

"What could my dearest oldest child need?"

"Advice."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes. Logan's sick. And besides giving him Nyquil, I have no idea what to do."

"Ah… yes, looking back, I should have made you take care of your sick brothers and sisters."

"Then I would have gotten sick. And you never wanted to take care of more than one sick child at once."

"True. So what's wrong with the fiancée?"

"Honestly, I don't know. He's been sleeping since he got home last night."

"Okay. Well, here's the general stuff. Take his temperature. If it's over one hundred, call me. If it's not, give him some Tylenol to help the fever and headache and make sure he gets enough fluids. Juice, tea, but no dairy… it'll make it worse. Also, make sure he eats. Even if it's chicken broth, anything will help."

"Oh… okay, thanks Mom."

"You're welcome. Oh, and, while you are out buying that thermometer, because I know you don't have one, pick up some medicine. Decongestants, cough suppressants, some throat lozenges. That kinda stuff."

"Thanks mom. Talk to you later."

"Bye hon."

Placing the phone back in its charger, she grabbed her running shoes, which were never used for running, and a sweat shirt. Checking on a sleeping Logan one last time, she grabbed her fleece North Face jacket and Logan's keys off the table.

Walking to the parking garage, she pressed the unlock button on the remote. Hearing the beep and seeing the lights go on helped her to find where Logan had parked. Seeing that he brought the SUV, she was grateful. It was the only car of his she could drive. The rest were stick shift and even though he tried, Logan's attempt to teach her how to drive stick failed miserably.

* * *

Pulling into the parking lot of Walgreen's, Rory entered the store somewhat hesitantly. It was the first time she had ever taken car of someone who was sick. Sure, she had taken care of Logan after the whole cliff-jumping incident, but he was hurt then, not sick. All she had to do was make sure he didn't do anything to fast. Now… well, now she had to make him better.

Walking the length of the store, she found the aisle with the pharmaceuticals. She quickly became overwhelmed with the amount of choices she had. Biting her lip, she grabbed a box of the shelf. _Vick's VapoRub? Do I need this? _She had thought. Placing the blue bottle back on the shelf, she continued to contemplate. Soon, she was startled out of her thoughts.

"Do you need any help?"

She turned toward the voice. Seeing an older man in a white coat, she assumed he was the pharmacist.

She sighed, "Yes."

"What are you looking for?"

"Honestly… I don't really know. My fiancée is sick. And, I don't know anything more than that."

The older man smiled, he must have been around 65, and said, "My name is Marcas, we're gonna be awhile, we'd might as well know one another."

He held out his hand.

She returned the gesture, "Rory, it's nice to meet you."

"So, what's wrong with your fiancée? A very lucky man, I must say."

She blushed, "Well, he came home last night and had a headache and a fever."

"What was his temperature?"

Rory felt her cheeks heat up. "Actually, we kind of don't have a thermometer."

Marcas laughed good-naturally. "Ah, well, follow me."

Following Marcas through a maze of aisles, Rory saw a bag of Red Vines and a book she wanted to read and grabbed both. _Well, if I'm going to have to stay with him this weekend, I might at well have something to do, _she thought.

Stopping in front of a display, Marcas asked, "What kind of thermometer do you need?"

Rory was slightly perplexed, "There are different kinds?"

He smiled, "Yes, there are kinds that go in the ear, under the tongue, in the… Well, I'm going to say that you'll want the one that goes under the tongue."

"Oh… okay, thanks."

"Now, you said he had a fever and a headache?"

"Yes."

"Well then I'm going to assume that he has the flu."

"Oh."

Marcas smiled at the young girl. She seemed confused. He saw the Yale sweatpants and North Face jacket. It was a slow day and he also saw her pull up in the Cayenne. She was nice, and obviously from society. She must have never taken care of someone who was sick before. Guiding her back over to the aisle of medications, he picked up several boxes and instructed her how to use each one. Biding her a good day, he said to come back if she needed anymore help. He also handed her a business card and told her to call if she needed to. Smiling, she thanked him, paid for her things and walked out the door.

It was nine thirty when Rory got back to the apartment. Walking with slightly more confidence than she had the night before, she entered the bedroom. Logan must have woken up sometime in the time she was gone and removed the blankets. Currently, he was lying on top of the bed in only his boxers. She could see the sweat on his forehead and chest.

_Poor boy, _she said under her breath.

Running a hand over his forehead, she saw his eyes flutter open. A weak smile crossed his lips.

"Morning" She said.

His reply was hoarse, forced even, "morning"

Sitting down next to him, she replied, "Okay, so first, we need to take you temperature."

He only looked at her expectantly.

Reaching into the plastic bag, she retrieved the thermometer. Reading the back of the package, she tore it open. Shaking the thermometer so that it would work correctly, she told him to open his mouth. Groggily, he opened his mouth and somewhat lifted his tongue. Sticking the thermometer into his mouth, she sat with him until the reading was finished.

"104.5. Well, when you want to do something, you really do it, huh?"

All the medical shows her mom and her and watched had made her want to take him to the doctor. But, Marcas had told her than anything from 100 to 104 and even 106 was normal for the flu and not to worry.

Reaching back into her self-dubbed "miracle bag" she retrieved the aspirin she bought out of the bag. She walked into the kitchen to grab a cup of water. Sitting back down next to him, she gave him an aspirin and decongestant. He hadn't coughed yet, so she saw no need for the cough drops. Picking up the plastic bag, she walked over to her side of the bed. Sitting down, she placed a pillow on her lap and let him lay his head down.

Between reading her book and writing her articles, Rory had passed the day rather quickly. Or, as quick as caring for her sick fiancée might go. Logan had woken up intermittently and Rory had taken that as the time to give him more medicine. It was eight thirty at night now and his fever had gone down to 101. Seeing that as making significant progress, she helped him move to the living room so that she could make him something to eat and still watch him.

Walking to the stove, she bit her lip. _Nope, _she thought. Grabbing a bowl out of the cupboard, she poured the soup into it. Slipping the bowl into the microwave, she heated the soup up. Hey, who said she couldn't cook?

Kneeling down next to Logan, she placed the bowl of soup on the coffee table. Helping him to sit up, she sat on the edge of the couch and fed him the soup. Another good sign, she thought, he's eating.

_10:30 pm_

She had taken his temperature once again and his fever was down to 100. Walking with him back into the bedroom, she helped him to the bathroom. Filling the bathtub with lukewarm water, she helped him to bathe quickly. Assisting him to the bed, she laid down next to him.

* * *

The next morning, Rory rolled over to find the bed empty. Sitting up slightly, she looked at the clock, eight am, it read.

Throwing the covers back, she realized she was still wearing the same clothing from two days ago. Walking into the kitchen, she spotted Logan at the kitchen table. Walking up behind him, she ran a hand up his back.

"Feeling better?"

He turned to her and smiled, "Much."

She looked at him. Giving him a look, she walked back into the bedroom to retrieve the thermometer. Sticking it under his tongue, she waited. Once time was up, she read it.

"98.6" she read aloud. "Good as new."

He got up from the chair and wrapped her in his arms.

"Thanks for taking care of me."

* * *

**_And, that was chapter four. Thanks so much for your feedback. Really, I love it. Oh, I'm watching House right now. I love it. So, what do you think of this chapter. I don't really know where to go after this. Should I skip to spring break and send them somewhere? Or graduation? I don't know. Anyways, I hope you enjoyed it. _**


	5. over the hills and through the hills

****

Okay, soI decided that I'd write about Christmas. It just seemed… to make sense I guess. Anyway, some of you have said that you can't imagine Lorelai with 6 kids. But, you have to think about it. Rory is 21, which makes her 12 when Jake and Isaac were born. Lily would have been 3. I know plenty of people who, at 12, were helping to take care of little brothers and sisters. Plus, Ben and Jackie were born when Rory was 18, Lily 12 and Jake and Isaac, 6. It's not like Chris and Lorelai couldn't handle it. Plus they seem like they would be a couple who are very much in love and would end up with all these kids… if you catch my drift… Thus, I guess that's my reasoning for Christmas… you can meet the whole family at once! Oh, and another thing that's important for this chapter. Dave (Lane's Dave that is) is going to be one of the Hartford elite like Logan and the gang. Artistic license is really lovely.

**_Anyway, here's chapter five!_**

* * *

_

* * *

December 10, 2006_

"So, you're done with finals on the 12th, right?" Logan confirmed.

"Yes, and since you can't get out until the 18th, I'm going to come stay with you until then. After that, we'll drive to Hartford where we'll stay from the 18th to the 23rd. We'll be at your parent's house the 23rd and 24th. We'll return to Hartford late on the 24th or early the 25th. I have to go back to school the 10th, so anything between that is free." Rory outlined their plans, hoping that maybe he was following along.

The line was silent for a second.

"Sorry I was writing all that down… Okay, well, I have from the 18th to the 6th off. So, do you want to go somewhere for New Years'… with Paris, Stephanie and all them?"

"Yes! Oh, Paris, Stephanie, Krysta and I will plan. It'll be a surprise for you boys. Okay?"

"Absolutely… see you the 18th… I miss you."

"Bye Logan, Love you."

"Love you too Ace, love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

Rory hung up the phone. Glancing at the calendar, she saw it was the 10th. Eight days until she could see him again. Sighing, she picked up her cell phone and called Stephanie.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Steph... it's Rory"

"Hi Rory! How are you?"

"Hmm, could be better. Anyway, what are you and Tristin doing after Christmas?"

"Hmm… nothing that I know of. Why?"

"Well, you know how the boys are always blindfolding us and whisking us off somewhere?"

Stephanie was hesitant, "Yes…"

She could hear Rory smile over the phone, "Well, it's our turn."

"What?"

"We're, being you, me, Paris and Krysta, are going to plan a vacation. And, it's going to be a surprise to the boys this time."

"Really!"

"Yes!"

"Amazing. This is going to be soooo much fun!" The blonde on the other end of the line was now excited, "Oh! We should get together tonight… Before the craziness of finals, you know."

"Sure, you call Krys, I'll call Paris. Meet at Starbucks' at 7?"

"Yea."

"Call if there are any problems, okay? See you tonight, bye!"

"Bye!"

* * *

Later that night, the four girls had met at Starbucks. Stephanie and Rory had left all the details out of their respective phone calls and all Paris and Krysta knew was that it was a girls' night out.

Once they had ordered, they sat down in a booth and, rather excitedly, shared their plans. As soon as the general idea had been laid out, they began looking for suggestions.

"New York?" Krysta asked, more than suggested.

"No, we always go to New York," Rory began, "The boys usually do something interesting for us… We have to find somewhere they'd never expect."

Being the always prepared one, Paris pulled her laptop out of the bag next to her. Using the excuse that she had come from class, they used the café's wireless internet connection.

Typing 'vacation' into a search engine, there were about 1,000,000,000,000 matches. Deciding that that wasn't going to work, they started looking at what various travel magazines suggested.

Krysta looked up again, "What about Italy and Croatia? I went there when I was 12 or 13, and it was awesome."

The rest of the girls looked up from the computer.

"That's a freakin' awesome idea!" Stephanie said, "Plus, they Italian and Croatian boys are hot."

The look she received from the rest of the girls was not pleasant.

"Okay, I know, we love our guys…"

Typing 'Italy and Croatia' into the computer, Paris came up with a great idea.

"What about a cruise? I mean, it'd basically all be planned for us. And, yes, it's short notice, so it'd be a little more expensive… But all the same, it would be awesome."

The rest of the girls nodded in agreement. Taking a napkin out of the holder, Rory grabbed a pen out of her purse.

"So, what are we going to need to plan?"

The suggestions came fast and numerous.

Cruise line? How long? When? How will we get there?

Once again, they were all staring at the laptop as Paris typed in 'Italy and Croatia cruise'. All the girls closed their eyes and crossed their fingers. They weren't travel agents. Hopefully, there wouldn't be many results. A few milliseconds later, the page finished loading.

5 results… How lucky were they?

Clicking on the Royal Caribbean link, they came upon a cruise that looked like it would be one hell of a time. Seeing that there were only a few rooms left, they all grabbed 'their' credit cards ready to reserve their rooms.

"Wait!" Paris said, "These cards, they're all the boys, right?"

There was a collective "oh".

"Well," Rory started, "Who has their own card on them?"

They all shook their heads. Quickly, they decided to all go back to Rory and Logan's apartment, after grabbing their own credit cards, and finish making the plans.

* * *

_December 12th, 2006_

Rory walked across the lobby of the Trump Tower to the elevators. Pressing the button for the 50th floor, she looked at her watch.

She was early. It was only 3:30, Logan wouldn't be off of work until 6:30 at the earliest. Hearing the 'ding' of the elevator signaling that she had reached her floor. Taking out the key to the apartment that Logan had left a few visits ago, she opened the door of the apartment. It was her first visit.

The apartment was nothing short of freaking amazing. All the walls were white, but the beautiful hardwood floors and dark leather furniture gave a warmer appearance to the room. Ceiling to floor windows illuminated the room. Hearing her stomach grumble, she made her way to find the kitchen.

That's where Logan found her three hours later. Hearing him walk into the kitchen, she said, "You know that you have a flat screen TV in your kitchen? I mean, this is awesome. I actually cooked Logan! Cooked! Well, with the help of Rachel Ray. Look!"

He smiled and walked over to her. Wrapping her in his arms, he buried his face in the hair that fell on her shoulders, "I missed you so much. So much."

"Same" was the muffled reply that came from his chest.

After a few minutes of standing together, he walked over to the stove and checked what she was making.

He wouldn't let it show, but he was surprised. _Rachel Ray has to be a genius_, he though, _if she can help Rory cook… who knows what else she could do_. After all, Rory was cooking inept.

Grabbing a glass from the cabinet, he walked over to the sink and filled his glass with water. Leaning against the counter, he watched Rory cook. It was nice, being all married-ish.

Over the next few days, Logan had skipped lunch so that he could be home earlier for Rory. He'd left her up to her own devices during the day and frankly, the thought of the damage she could do with his black card scared him. She had told him that she was going shopping for their trip. He wouldn't know what to pack, she had said, after all; he didn't know where they were going.

He swore she was gloating when she said that last sentence.

Walking into the apartment that night, he saw shopping bags everywhere. Then, he heard giggling come from the living room. While loosing his tie, he walked in to find Rory, Stephanie, Lane, Paris and Krysta packing suitcases.

Rory had heard the apartment door slam shut and glanced up a few minutes later to find Logan standing behind the couch looking at them. Jumping up, she ran to him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she placed a huge kiss on his lips.

He chuckled, "It's nice to see you too, Ace."

Smiling at him, she skipped back over to her packing and told him that the boys were meeting at the Hard Rock Café for a boys' night, the girls were staying here.

Otherwise known as, if you need to, come home really late. Because, we'll be talking about you guys. And, do you really want to hear what we're going to say about you?

* * *

_December 18th, 2006_

It was 8:30 when Rory and Logan pulled into the Hayden driveway in Hartford. The snow storm that was brewing was starting to get worse, and lucky for them, they were only ten minutes away, otherwise, they'd have to stay overnight in some hotel.

Trying to be quiet, Rory and Logan entered the house. They wanted to surprise their family and not arrived announced.

Tip-toeing into the entertainment room, they saw the family watching 'Madagascar'. The babies must have chosen, as it was their favorite movie. The couple had wanted to scare Chris and Lorelai, but the penguins had made them laugh and the entire family turned to see who it was.

"Rory! Logan!" the babies had run towards them. Picking the two up, Rory and Logan walked over to the couch and sat down between Lily and Isaac.

After catching up with the family, they all retired to bed. Well, except Rory and Lily. They stayed up to 'girl talk'.

"So, how's Brett?"

Lily smiled. The two had been dating for three months. "Great!" Had been Lily's reply, but Rory had felt that there was something more.

"And?"

The smile on Lily's face grew even larger, if it was even possible. "Oh my god, Rory, it's amazing. For my sixteenth birthday, he took me to Bravo and then we went to the Rascal Flatts concert. I know, it's against the Gilmore Girl Code to like country, but, I love them. It was awesome. Then, when they were singing Bless the Broken Road, he was singing it in my ear. Rory, it was incredible. It's only been three months… but I think I might love him. And, I know, I'm 16, I can't be in love. But, whatever is between like and love. I'm definitely there." She had gushed.

Rory was stunned. Her baby sister was all grown up. Well, almost.

"Lily, I'm happy for you, really. Just don't rush into anything, okay?"

Lily nodded. Giving one another a huge hug, they both went to bed.

When Rory reached her childhood bedroom, she saw that Logan was already fast asleep. Changing into a pair of pajama pants and a long sleeved thermal t shirt, Rory crawled into bed and snuggled up to Logan. Before long, she felt his arm sneak across her tummy and she was lulled into a peaceful sleep.

* * *

The next few days were filled with craziness at the Hayden house. Logan and Rory still had Christmas shopping to do, Lily had a Christmas pageant that she was in, Jackie and Ben still had to go see Santa at the mall, and Lorelai and Chris had to take Jake and Isaac to an indoor soccer tournament.

It was lucky for them that Lily had just gotten her license.

With Lorelai and Chris gone, Rory and Logan were left in charge. Basically, they were there to take care of Jackie and Ben.

It was the morning of the 21st. Lily had already left for dress rehearsal and most of the Christmas shopping still wasn't done.

When Rory, Logan, Ben and Jackie reached the mall, it was more crowded than Rory had ever seen it. Volunteering to wait with the twins, Logan gave Rory a quick kiss before she ran off to buy the twins' Christmas presents.

Logan hated waiting in lines. But, in his opinion, it was better than shopping. Usually, he just flaunted his last name or paid someone off to get to the front of the line. Unfortunately, all the parents wanted to get this over with and none were willing to part with their space in line. No matter the amount of money offered to them.

Meanwhile, in the Gap, Rory came across the cutest outfits for Jackie and Ben. For Jackie she had gotten a jean skirt with a navy blue argyle button up v necked sweater and white t shirt to complete the outfit. She also purchased navy blue tights, despite her flashback to Chilton. She had bought Ben a pair of jeans and a green sweater. Literally running, despite her un-athleticism, she got to the toy store. Buying a few toys that Lorelai hadn't bought for the two, she ran back out to the car to hide the presents before she had to meet up with Logan again.

When she reached the Visit Santa display, she saw that Logan and the twins still had about 25 people in front of them. Leaning over the fence that separated the people visiting Santa and the rest of the holiday shoppers, she told Logan she was still shopping for her brothers and sisters. Asking him if he needed to get anything, he handed her over his shopping list. Anything to get out of Christmas shopping, he said.

Rory laughed. She was made for this kind of activity. She and her mother spent most of the year preparing for it.

Running to the nearest sporting good store, she picked up two soccer jerseys each for the boys. Logan had filled her in with which players' jerseys to get. She also placed an order to get them their own personalized jerseys for their birthday in February.

Luckily for her, there was an Abercrombie and Fitch next to the store. Grabbing a pair of jeans, two sweaters, a button down shirt and a pair of khakis, she paid for them and ran out of the store. As long as it was Abercrombie, she knew Lily would like it. She also picked her up a new pair of Birkenstocks.

Next on the list were Honor and Josh. They were currently expecting their first child in less than 4 months. Logan hadn't had anything written next to their names, so it was up to Rory. She remembered that when her mom was pregnant with Jackie and Ben she had wanted to be 'sexy' after they were born. After 5 months of wearing 'whale clothing', she was ready to be skinny and wanted by her husband, not that she was ever not wanted. Rory laughed at the memory of her mother running out to Victoria's Secret as soon as the babies were old enough to be left with Rory for a few hours. Lorelai had come back with six overflowing bags of lingerie. Figuring it was as good of an idea as any, Rory walked into Victoria's Secret. Not knowing what Honor, or really Josh for that matter, liked, she put together a girls' night out basket. It was a wicker basket with a $75 gift certificate for Victoria's Secret, another $75 dollars for Sephora and various other things like nail polish, make-up, lotion and bubble bath.

Josh was a little harder. When she thought about it, she realized it would be a hell of a lot harder. Struggling with her bags, she continued to weave her way in and out of people. Looking around, she spotted Brooks Brothers and figured it would work for Josh. It was where Logan bought most of his work clothing. Walking into the store, the manager saw her and recognized her as Logan's girlfriend.

"Miss Gilmore! So good to see you!"

Rory smiled and took his proffered hand.

"You too, Michael, you too!"

"What can I get for you today? A gift for Mr. Huntzberger, I presume."

"Actually, no, not today. I'm looking for a gift for my future brother in law."

"Mr. Huntzberger and you are engaged? Congratulations!"

She smiled and thanked him. After walking around the store with the slightly flamboyant man, she decided on a sweater, dress shirt and polo. Buying the clothing, she thanked Michael for his help and continued with her shopping.

Digging into her purse, she retrieved her list. She still needed to buy for her mom and dad, Emily and Ri Mitchum, Elias and Shira. And those were just the family members. She also had Tristin, Finn, Stephanie, Krysta, Colin, Paris, Lane and Dave. She looked at her watch. 12:05 it read.

When she walked by the 'North Pole' that the mall had set up, she laughed. There were still at least 10 more people in front of Logan.

It was going to be a long day.

* * *

_December 24th, 2006_

When Rory awoke a few days later, she realized that her legs were still tired from her marathon shopping. Turning over, she saw Logan was still asleep. Laying her head back down on the pillow, she noticed how peaceful and content he looked. She knew that wouldn't be the case later tonight.

Placing a chaste kiss on his lips, she tried to wake him up. Scooting closer to him, she slipped her hand under his shirt and caressed his abs. Letting her flingers flit over the muscles; she continued to lightly kiss him. Within minutes, she heard him groan and saw on eye open.

"Is this how every morning is going to be after we get married?" He asked, his voice still heavy with sleep.

She 'borrowed' the smirk that Tristin always used, "If you play your cards right."

With another kiss, she was out of bed. Glancing at the alarm clock on the nightstand, she saw that it was already 11:00. Grabbing his hand, she pulled him out of bed.

He adamantly refused.

Letting out a frustrated sigh, she said, "C'mon Logan! If you hurry, we might have time to shower…." She trailed off suggestively.

With a smirk of his own, he was up.

They had quickly settled into a routine of their own.

Rory would always shower while Logan went running. He usually returned as she finished blow drying her hair. He'd enter the bathroom as she was putting the blow dryer and flat iron away. As their paths crossed, they lightly kiss one another. As Logan showered, she'd read the newspaper. When she heard the shower turn off, she wonder back into the bathroom and jump up and sit next to the sink as he shaved. More often than not, she'd convince him not to shave because she liked his 'stubbles'. As he did his hair, she'd apply a light layer of make-up. He'd walk into the closet and put a shirt on while she put on her shoes.

When Rory had told Lorelai this, Lorelai had called the two "sickenly sweet".

Whoever had said that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger hadn't attended the annual Huntzberger Christmas Party.

Logan and Rory had arrived at the Huntzberger Mansion two hours before the party. Though, if Logan had had his way, they would have been two hours late.

Opening the passenger's side door for her, Logan grabbed Rory's hand as they walked into the mansion. Before they could reach the door, a five-month-pregnant Honor opened the door. One hand on her growing belly, she attempted to wrap them both in hug.

Logan laughed, "Sis, you're getting fat." He joked.

She glared at him. Rory slapped his arm, "Is that how you're going to treat me when I get pregnant?" She asked him, jokingly.

He turned and wrapped her in his arms, "Never." Kissing her with all he had, they heard a cough after a few minutes.

"If you two don't stop soon you're gonna end up like me," Honor said to Rory, motioning to her tummy.

They all walked into the sitting room where Josh, Shira, Mitchum and Elias were sitting. Honor went and sat next to Josh, who despite being married into the family for almost a year, still looked terrified.

Elias, being the perpetually grumpy old man he was, was sitting in a high backed chair with an empty cup in his hand, twirling the remnants of the ice in the bottom.

Shira looked as though she needed her cigarettes. Ever since Honor had become pregnant, she was forbidden from smoking in the house. This made the whole 'stress smoking' method difficult. It clearly showed on her face.

Mitchum was already nursing his fifth alcoholic beverage of the night, despite the fact that it was only 4 o'clock.

Rather uncomfortably, Rory had smoothed her navy blue dress before sitting down. Placing her hands in her lap, she folded them together. Looking up she saw Josh sitting across from her. If it hadn't been for the fact that Josh was a male, it could have just been a mirror across from her. They both had terrified expressions on their face, despite the face that they were both desperately trying to hide it. She jumped slightly when she felt Logan's arm sneak behind her back, but she quickly relaxed into him.

They had, rather awkwardly to say the least, exchanged their gifts for one another.

Honor had loved the gift basket. Rory had been dead on with the fact that after 9 months, Honor would want to feel truly sexy.

Honor and Josh had gotten Rory a diamond tennis bracelet from Tiffany's. It wasn't huge and flashy, just perfectly Rory. As soon as she had opened it, she had held her wrist out to Logan so he could help her put it on.

Logan had received white gold cuff links from him parents. Rory saw the look of disappointment in his eyes as he received yet another thoughtless gift from his parents.

They had continued trading gifts and Rory couldn't help but notice how so many of them were thoughtless. It was shocking to find a family who could care so little that they didn't care what they gave one another. Once again, she and Josh mirrored one another, grabbing their respective better half's hand and gently caressing it, comforting them the best they could.

That night at the party, Logan had stayed by Rory's side. It wasn't that he was scared to leave her on her own; he knew she could handle herself with society. It was that he didn't want to be dragged off by his father to discuss business on Christmas. He knew that if he was with Rory, Mitchum would behave himself somewhat.

Their friends had all arrived late. It was something akin to a survival tactic. The later they arrived, the more likely that their parents would already be drunk. Consequently, the less of their parents they'd have to deal with.

Currently, they were all sitting in Logan and Honor's childhood playroom. It was still decorated the way it had been 15 years ago. They were all talking about the thoughtless gifts that they had received from their parents. The looks on Lane and Rory's face were ones of disbelief. Even though Rory had grown up in society, she had great relationships with everyone in her family. Lane, despite the fact she had grown up in a strict home, knew how lucky she was. Christmas had always been interesting in her family, but it had been loving nonetheless. They continued sit in shock, clutching the hand of their respective boyfriend (or fiancée), giving them the love that they barely had from their parents.

Tristin had received an informational book on Yale. His parents still hadn't accepted the fact that they couldn't change the fact that he loved Princeton.

Dave had received a book on how rock n' roll was possibly related to the devil. He couldn't remember the name, but he the sad part was that they hadn't remembered what he loved.

Stephanie had been given a gift certificate. A generic, run-of-the-mill gift certificate… sure, a gift certificate was fine for a co-worker or secret Santa present. But for your child? Miss Manners would die if she heard of these presents.

Paris had yet to hear from her parents. She knew they were somewhere in Europe, but other than that? Nothing.

Colin had seen his parents yet this holiday season. The last thing he heard was that his father's sixth wife was pregnant. He'd be 24 years older than his youngest sibling. So far at least.

Despite the fact that Finn and Krysta were both part of high society, their parents loved them. Sure, they didn't have the best relationship, but it was better than the rest of their friends. Finn's parents had bought him a new Porsche. He had crashed the previous one a few months ago. It was what was inside the Porsche that he loved. A year's supply of Fosters, it was Finn's personal heaven. Krysta had received a custom made dress by Vera Wang. A friend of her parents, she had personally made the dress that Krysta had sketched. It was light blue silk with underlying layers of darker shades of blue, getting darker as the layers went. It had spaghetti straps that tied and the neckline cut straight across. It hit right above the knees. A small bow tied around the bodice of the dress. Her parents also got her a pair of deep blue Jimmy Choos. For a girl like Krysta, it was nothing short of perfect.

The rest of the night was filled with drinking and laughing. Honor and Josh had eventually joined the group. Honor had decided to share all the details of pregnancy. Thus, each of the other girls looked at their boyfriends with a look that said " do not think you are getting anything anytime soon."

Suffice to say the looks the boys gave Honor were not all that loving.

* * *

The next morning, Rory awoke to Ben jumping on her bed. Hearing a scream from down the hall, she realized Jackie must have woken Lilly up. Suddenly, another scream came from the other end of the hallway, followed by a sudden slam of a door. Isaac and Jake were up. Before long, all the kids were gathered in Rory's room. It was tradition, no matter their ages, to all wake their parents up. Getting up, Rory grabbed her robe and turned to the bed as she walked out of the room. Logan was still sleeping. She wondered how he was sleeping through all of this. She thought she'd let him sleep a little while longer as they woke their parents up.

Logan awoke about 10 minutes later to Lorelai and Chris screaming about how their children were going to die a slow and painful death. He smiled somewhat wistfully. He always wished for a relationship with his parents like the one Rory had. Pulling on a pair of plaid pajama pants and a white t shirt, he met Rory in the hall.

The family gathered in the dining room for a huge breakfast of Belgian waffles with ice cream and various toppings. It was a tradition with the Hayden family and although odd, it was a welcome time. There was also bacon, sausage, hash browns, eggs and fruit (because somehow, Jackie had come to like it…). There were also pitchers of juice and various type of coffee from around the world.

After literally stuffing their faces, they all worked together to clean up the kitchen. Logan was shocked. Here was a society family doing housework. Well, to a certain extent. Chris had taken control as soon as Lorelai had attempted to liquid dish soap in the dishwasher. Hey, it was a good try… right?

They had all settled into the entertainment room where the Christmas tree was. This tree, unlike the one they had in the foyer, was decorated warmly. There were Christmas ornaments that the kids had made and others from places they had gone on vacation. There were 'baby's first Christmas' ornaments for each of the kids and 'our insert number here Christmas' ornaments for each of the years Lorelai and Chris had been married. Also decorating the tree were angels made in the color of each family members' birthstone.

Settling around the tree, Isaac was elected to play Santa. He grabbed all of Rory and Logan's presents to the family and passed them out to the respective family members. The kids had all loved their presents. Jackie had immediately wanted to play with her Dora the Explorer doll and Ben his new racecar. Isaac and Jake loved the jerseys and had immediately put them on. Lily had already started to plan what outfit she was going to wear on her next date.

They had finished opening their presents when Lorelai handed Logan a small, brightly wrapped package. Unwrapping the box, a tear came to his eye.

It was an aquamarine angel. March, his birthday. Lorelai had wrapped him in a hug, and whispered in his ear.

"Welcome to the family, Logan."

* * *

Okay, so it's a freaking long chapter… words! But, I didn't want to break it up too much. Though, it seemed like a good idea to make the cruise the next chapter. Well, what'd you think? And, I'm so sorry about the wait. Really, I didn't want to wait that long, but my computer was broken! 


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